Covid-19: the impact on healthcare expenditure

Counterintuitively, spending on healthcare has been falling in some countries throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Though resources are being poured into combating the virus, non-urgent care has been reduced or cancelled, and patients have been staying clear of hospitals in fear of contracting the virus or placing an extra burden on healthcare workers.

Covered in this report, The Economist Intelligence Unit examines the impact the pandemic has and will continue to have on the healthcare sector in 2020. Given that GDP has been forecast to contract in most G20 markets this year, healthcare spending in many developed countries is expected to recover. The report also looks further ahead to 2021 where a global economic recovery will lead to a surge in healthcare spending, as waiting lists swell and a potential Covid-19 vaccine is deployed.